The Time of Their Lives
by A Catholic Girl
Summary: Ginny realizes something very important during Victoire and Teddy's wedding, something that she was too blind to see. Written in response to the Wedding Challenge.


**This is a response oneshot to Pinky Green's Wedding Challenge from the HPFC. It is Ginny Weasley's point of view of Victoire and Teddy's wedding. And just to let you all know, in my HP universe, James P. was born in 2005, and Lily P. in 2008 - I actually think those are their actual birth years, but I'll say them just in case. Rose W., Albus P., and Scorpius M. were obviously born in 2006. In my world, Dominique W. was born in 2002. I am just mentioning these birth years because the characters above are mentioned in this. Thank you!**

* * *

Ginny Weasley Potter hadn't attended a wedding since Luna Lovegood and Rolf Scamander's matrimony celebration more than ten years ago. Back then, she had been thirty-three. Now, she was nearing her forty-third birthday. During Luna and Rolf's wedding, Victoire Weasley and Teddy Lupin had been fourteen and sixteen. Ten years later, they were twenty-four and twenty-six, about to be wed.

The wedding was to take place at the Burrow, as many Weasley weddings had been held in the past. The wedding date was set to be May 8th, 2024, several days after Victoire's birthday. Ginny and her family left for the Burrow on May 4th, arriving early in order to help with wedding preparations. The woman who had once been the only Weasley girl watched as the oldest Weasley daughter bustled around the Burrow, hopping from the kitchen to the upstairs hallway in what seemed like seconds. The scene seemed far too familiar for Ginny, for twenty years ago, that eager, glowing bride was she – the solo female in the family, whose wedding would be entirely different than her brothers'.

Victoire's arms fell upon her beloved aunt almost the moment Ginny Potter entered the Burrow. "Oh, Aunt Ginny, you won't believe how happy I am! From what Maman told me, I thought preparing a wedding would be nothing but exhausting…" Victoire's face flushed eagerly. "She was _wrong_. I'm as energized as ever!"

Ginny smiled lovingly at her niece, but replied, "You know marriage is no picnic, yes?"

Victoire's snow-white face grew sincere and serious. "Of course! I'd think it would be unnatural if Teddy and I never quarreled or disagreed during our marriage!"

Ginny squeezed Victoire's arm approvingly. "That's my girl."

Victoire shot her one last smile before being whisked away to the other side of the room by Teddy. Ginny sat herself upon a cushioned chair and observed the engaged couple with alert eyes. The two were exchanging words quietly and without expression, but Ginny was not listening to their words. She was studying their eyes - the way Victoire's moonlight-colored pupils and Teddy's bright blue ones shone when looking at the other. She saw love being shed – the same love that had appeared in the eyes of herself, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Neville, etc., all at successive times over the years.

But Ginny still couldn't come to accepting terms that one of her numerous nieces was getting married to the boy who was like a son to her and Harry. It appeared as if only yesterday that Victoire and Teddy had their first meeting on exactly May 8th, 2000. Andromeda had brought Teddy to visit Fleur in the hospital and to see the new baby. Ginny was present at the time, and still remembered the way two-year-old Teddy's eyes lit up eagerly at the sight of six-day-old Victoire. His spiky hair had morphed into a bright shade of red when Fleur allowed him to hold her daughter, although only if Andromeda kept a hand pressed against the baby for safety.

Ginny had chortled out loud when Teddy's hair color changed yet again that day so long ago. "Red – the color of love!"

Now, twenty-four years later, the two were getting married on the very same day on which they met for the first time. _It's all a dream, _Ginny found herself thinking. _I'll wake up tomorrow and realize that Victoire and Teddy are still children, and nothing but best friends…_

* * *

Alas, Ginny woke up the next morning in one of the guest bedrooms, the wall calendar reading May 5th, 2024. Thinking about her faint thought from the previous day, she rose to help her mother and sisters-in-law bake the majority of the dessert menu for the wedding. The following two days were exactly the same – she aided different family members and friends in wedding preparations, hour after hour. She thought the preparations would never end, and scolded herself for saying such a childish statement. But May 8th finally arrived, bringing blue skies and chirping birds. After calming down Victoire's nerves, persuading sixteen-year-old Lily into her so-called ugly dress, and greeting the just arriving Longbottoms, Ginny was at last allowed to retreat to the bedroom she was sharing with her husband, to change into her dress for the wedding.

_I must be getting old, _she thought, brushing her hands through her red hair. Looking into the mirror, she spotted several grey hairs that couldn't possibly have been there a month ago. She found herself turning around, still facing the mirror to observe her exceeding body weight on her behind. _Damn those childbirths. _

Ginny peeked out of the bedroom window and into the yard, where a wedding altar had been set up for the occasion. Throughout the yard, different couples other than the bridegroom couple dominated. Seventeen-year-old Rose, who would observe her eighteenth birthday in October, was sitting under one of the oak trees with Scorpius Malfoy, Rose having begged her father to allow her to invite him to the wedding.

_Ron doesn't know that he's different than Malfoy, _Ginny chuckled to herself. Rose and the Malfoy boy were bound to be married sometime over the next five years, it was blatantly obvious. She still recalled how Rose had firmly announced that she was in love with him when they were fourteen years old. _Ron was nearly out for a whole day after Rosie said that…_

A distance away from Rose and Scorpius walked Ginny's own son, James, and his girlfriend and childhood best friend, Alice Longbottom. The two were eighteen and nearly a year out of Hogwarts. "They've always been destined to be," Ginny proclaimed, speaking out loud this time. She was the one who had seen their friendship bloom into a love-hate relationship, and then finally, just a relationship that contained love in it.

Twenty-two-year-old Dominique was rushing ahead in the field to greet her date to the wedding, Joseph Thomas. Joe was fairly new to the entire Weasley environment, unlike Scorpius and Alice, who were considerably close to the family. All of the adults had discussed this relationship behind Dom's back, every one of them hesitant about how it'd turn out. The Thomases were not one of the families they had grown close to over the years. But as Bill and Fleur claimed, as long as Dom was happy, they'd support the relationship strongly.

The next few hours occurred as blurs to Ginny. Guests slowly arrived for the ceremony, and Mrs. Molly Weasley set out to sort her nieces and nephews to where they belonged, whether it was in a pew or in the wedding party. Ginny was seated in the second row on the bride's side, Harry choosing to sit on Teddy's side, being his godfather. Only Lily and Albus were sitting next to her. James was sitting in the back row of Teddy's side of chairs, where Alice and several of their old school friends sat. _At Luna's wedding, they all sat next to me – Harry, James, Al, and Lily, _Ginny remembered, a ping of sadness throbbing inside her.

She could feel the tears emerging in her eyes as everyone rose when Victoire ascended the aisle, clinging to Bill's arm. She tried to fight back a hearty and tearful laugh when she noticed Bill's slightly misty eyes as he gave away his elder daughter and first child. Ginny smiled fondly when Victoire and Teddy recited their wedding vows, pledging their everlasting love to each other. _Whenever did they grow up to such beautiful people?_

Cheers and applause erupted when the bride and groom kissed for the first time as a married couple. However, Ginny was sobbing. She was normally never one to cry – she barely cried when she was married, or when any of her three children were born or went off to Hogwarts for the first time. In tears' stead, overjoyed and anxious feelings had bubbled up inside her.

Then why was she crying now? It was not her own child's wedding she was witnessing. But yet, this wedding symbolized a great change. It was the first of the children's generation, at least for their family. Ginny saw this event now as the stepping down of her own generation. The time of her life was almost up, and now, it was her children's turn to create their lasting memories of young adult life, and later, a newlywed's and a parent's life. She, Harry, and their friends and siblings had done what was needed to properly raise their children, and gave them enough advice and reason to go out in the world on their own. James was in a serious relationship with the girl who had always been there, Albus was talking of interest in a Ministry job, and Lily was nearing the end of her Hogwarts education. Her three babies were no longer…well…_babies_. And Ginny realized their growing up all in one place – Victoire and Teddy's wedding.

* * *

Her niece embraced her heavily once the wedding reception began. "I'm so relieved it's over!"

Ginny grinned at her, wiping away her tears. "You'll regret being so easygoing."

Victoire laughed at her aunt's statement. "Is that true, Aunt Ginny? Marriage will really turn out to be that difficult?"

Ginny was silent for a moment, thinking about how to answer the bride. Finally, she replied, "It will be at times, Vic. But most times, as long as you love and respect Teddy as much as you respect yourself, it'll be like a journey. Children will come, and death and loss will eventually arrive as well. But…you and Teddy are more than prepared for the time of your lives. Trust me."

She then returned Victoire's earlier embrace, silently letting the tears she was holding back come out. It was a wedding – tears were acceptable. What better way to welcome the start of the adult lives of the next generation?

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**Please leave an honest review! This was my first HP fic that wasn't centered around a Longbottom, so I applaud myself for completing it successfully!**


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